Abstinence monitoring of suspected drinking drivers: ethyl glucuronide in hair versus CDT.

Objective: Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) determinations in the hair of self-reported teetotalers were reviewed and compared with carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) blood tests (by immunochemistry and high-performance liquid chromatography [HPLC]).

Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on 154 people whose fitness to drive had to be assessed because of the suspicion of relevant alcohol problems.

Results: EtG was detected in 55 percent of the hair samples and abstinence thus disproved.